Systems and methods for communicating information

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for communicating information related to a wearable device are disclosed. Exemplary information includes audio information.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.63/012,811, filed Apr. 20, 2020, titled SYSTEMS AND METHODS FORCOMMUNICATING INFORMATION, the entire disclosure of which is expresslyincorporated by reference herein. This application is related to U.S.Provisional Application No. 63/012,814, filed Apr. 20, 2020, titledSYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR VOICE RECEPTION AND DETECTION, U.S. PatentApplication No. (unknown), filed ______, titled SYSTEMS AND METHODS FORCOMMUNICATING INFORMATION, docket PLR-15-28676.02P-01-US, U.S. PatentApplication No. (unknown), filed ______, titled SYSTEMS AND METHODS FORCOMMUNICATING INFORMATION, docket PLR-15-28676.02P-02-US, and U.S.Patent Application No. (unknown), filed ______, titled SYSTEMS ANDMETHODS FOR COMMUNICATING INFORMATION, docket PLR-15-28676.02P-03-US,the entire disclosures of which are expressly incorporated by referenceherein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to a communication system and,more particularly, to a communication system having a microphone forvoice reception and/or voice detection.

BACKGROUND

Recreational vehicles, such as motorcycles, or off-road vehicles such asall-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and snowmobiles, are widely used forrecreational purposes. During rides, users (e.g., drivers/riders) maycontrol some features of the recreational vehicles via voice commandsand/or may participate in telephone or radio communications. To do so,the users may wear wearable devices with one or more microphones (e.g.,a headset or a helmet with a microphone) to capture user's voice orspeech. However, it is inevitable that the microphones also capturenoise (e.g., engine noise, tire noise, wind noise) in addition to thevoice of the user during the rides.

SUMMARY

As set forth above, embodiments provided herein relate to route planningfor a recreational vehicle. Exemplary embodiments include but are notlimited to the following examples.

In one aspect, a wearable device for noise-cancelling of ambient soundsis provided. The wearable device includes an exterior microphone, aspeaker, a processor, and memory including instructions that whenexecuted by the processor cause the processor to receive audio inputsignals from the exterior microphone of the wearable device, perform anactive noise control to filter ambient noise from the audio inputsignals, and deliver the filtered audio signals to the user via aspeaker of the wearable device.

In some embodiments, the exterior microphone may be mounted on anexterior surface of the wearable device to capture environment sounds.In other embodiments, an interior microphone may be mounted on aninterior surface of the wearable device facing toward a user of thewearable device to capture a user's voice.

In some embodiments, to perform the active noise control may include todetect ambient noise from the audio input signals.

In some embodiments, to detect ambient noise from the audio inputsignals may include to detect ambient noise using machine learningalgorithms.

In another aspect, a method for noise-cancelling of ambient soundscaptured by a wearable device is provided. The method includesreceiving, by the wearable device, audio input signals from an exteriormicrophone of the wearable device, performing, by the wearable device,an active noise control to filter ambient noise from the audio inputsignals, and delivering, by the wearable device, the filtered audiosignals to the user via a speaker of the wearable device.

In some embodiments, the exterior microphone may be mounted on anexterior surface of the wearable device to capture environment sounds.In other embodiments, the interior microphone may be mounted on aninterior surface of the wearable device facing toward a user of thewearable device to capture a user's voice.

In other embodiments, performing the active noise control may includedetecting ambient noise from the audio input signals.

In other embodiments, detecting ambient noise from the audio inputsignals may include detecting ambient noise using machine learningalgorithms.

In another aspect, a wearable device for establishing a communicationchannel between the wearable device and a recreational vehicle that isin close proximity to the wearable device is provided. The wearabledevice includes a communication device, a processor operatively coupledto the communication device, and memory comprising instructions thatwhen executed by the processor cause the processor to detect arecreational vehicle that is in a range of the communication device,determine, in response to a detection by the wearable device, if thewearable device has been previously paired with the recreationalvehicle, and establish, in response to a determination that the wearabledevice has been previously paired with the recreational vehicle, acommunication channel with the recreational vehicle.

In some embodiments, to detect the recreational vehicle that is in therange of the communication device may include to detect a recreationalvehicle using at least one of radiofrequency fields, magnetic fields,and sound waves.

In some embodiments, to detect the recreational vehicle that is in therange of the communication device may include to: detect radio signalsgenerated by a recreational vehicle, determine a strength of the radiosignals, determine whether the strength of the radio signals is above apredefined threshold, and determine, in response to a determination thatthe strength of the radio signals is above the predefined threshold,that the recreational vehicle is in the range of the communicationdevice.

In some embodiments, to detect the recreational vehicle that is in therange of the communication device may include to: detect low frequencymagnetic fields generated by a recreational vehicle, determine astrength of the low frequency magnetic fields, determine a distance fromthe recreational vehicle based on the strength of the low frequencymagnetic fields, and determine whether the recreational vehicle is inthe range of the communication device.

In some embodiments, to detect the recreational vehicle that is in therange of the communication device may include to: detect sound wavesgenerated by a recreational vehicle, measure an elapsed time of thesound waves using the speed of sound, determine a distance from therecreational vehicle based on the elapsed time, and determine whetherthe recreational vehicle is in the range of the communication device.

In some embodiments, the elapsed time may be a time duration between astart time that the sound waves were transmitted from the recreationalvehicle and an end time the sound waves were received by the wearabledevice.

In some embodiments, the memory may further include instructions thatwhen executed by the processor cause the processor to perform, inresponse to a determination that the wearable device has not beenpreviously paired with the recreational vehicle and by the wearabledevice, an initial pairing process to set up a communication channelbetween the wearable device

In some embodiments, to perform the initial pairing process may includeto: prompt a user of the wearable device whether to pair with therecreational vehicle, receive an authorization from the user, andcommunicate with the recreational vehicle to establish the communicationchannel.

In some embodiments, to perform the initial pairing process may includeto: prompt a user of the recreational vehicle whether to pair with thewearable device, receive an authorization from the user, and communicatewith the wearable device to establish the communication channel.

In some embodiments, the communication channel may be an audiocommunication channel.

In another aspect, a method for establishing a communication channelbetween the wearable device and a recreational vehicle that is in closeproximity to the wearable device is provided. The method includesdetecting, by the wearable device, a recreational vehicle that is in arange of a communication device of the wearable device, determining, inresponse to detecting that the recreational vehicle is in a range of acommunication device of the wearable device and by the wearable device,if the wearable device has been previously paired with the recreationalvehicle, and establishing, in response to determining that the wearabledevice has been previously paired with the recreational vehicle and bythe wearable device, a communication channel with the recreationalvehicle.

In some embodiments, detecting the recreational vehicle that is in arange of a communication device of the wearable device may includedetecting, by the wearable device, a recreational vehicle using at leastone of radiofrequency fields, magnetic fields, and sound waves.

In some embodiments, detecting the recreational vehicle recreationalvehicle that is in a range of a communication device of the wearabledevice may include detecting, by the wearable device, radio signalsgenerated by a recreational vehicle, determining, by the wearabledevice, a strength of the radio signals, determining, by the wearabledevice, whether the strength of the radio signals is above a predefinedthreshold, and determining, in response to determining that the strengthof the radio signals is above the predefined threshold and by thewearable device, that the recreational vehicle is the range of thecommunication device.

In some embodiments, detecting the recreational vehicle recreationalvehicle that is in a range of a communication device of the wearabledevice may include detecting, by the wearable device, low frequencymagnetic fields generated by a recreational vehicle, determining, by thewearable device, a strength of the low frequency magnetic fields,determining, by the wearable device, a distance from the recreationalvehicle based on the strength of the low frequency magnetic fields, anddetermining, by the wearable device, whether the recreational vehicle isthe range of the communication device.

In some embodiments, detecting the recreational vehicle recreationalvehicle that is in a range of a communication device of the wearabledevice may include detecting, by the wearable device, sound wavesgenerated by a recreational vehicle, measuring, by the wearable device,an elapsed time of the sound waves using the speed of sound,determining, by the wearable device, a distance from the recreationalvehicle based on the elapsed time, and determining, by the wearabledevice, whether the recreational vehicle is the range of thecommunication device.

In some embodiments, the elapsed time is a time duration between a starttime that the sound waves were transmitted from the recreational vehicleand an end time the sound waves were received by the wearable device.

In some embodiments, the method may further include performing, inresponse to determining that the wearable device has not been previouslypaired with the recreational vehicle and by the wearable device, aninitial pairing process to set up a communication channel between thewearable device.

In some embodiments, performing the initial pairing process may includeprompting, by the wearable device, a user of the wearable device whetherto pair with the recreational vehicle, receiving, by the wearabledevice, an authorization from the user, and communicating, by thewearable device, with the recreational vehicle to establish thecommunication channel.

In some embodiments, performing the initial pairing process may includeprompting, by the recreational vehicle, a user of the recreationalvehicle whether to pair with the wearable device, receiving, by therecreational vehicle, an authorization from the user, and communicating,by the recreational vehicle, with the wearable device to establish thecommunication channel.

In some embodiments, the communication channel may be an audiocommunication channel.

In other aspect, a wearable device for minimizing a battery power usageof a wearable device is provided. The wearable device includes acommunication device, a processor, and memory comprising instructionsthat when executed by the processor cause the processor to: determine ifa recreational vehicle is in a range of the communication device,determine, in response to a determination that the recreational vehicleis in the range of the communication device, a state of an engine of therecreational vehicle, and activate, in response to a determination thatthe engine of the recreational vehicle is running, a noise-cancellingfeature of the wearable device.

In some embodiments, to determine the state of the engine of therecreational vehicle may include to measure a harmonic content of theengine to determine the state of the engine of the recreational vehicle.

In some embodiments, to determine the state of the engine of therecreational vehicle may include to receive a message from therecreational vehicle including the state of the engine.

In some embodiments, the recreational vehicle may be in the range of thecommunication device when the wearable device is near or inside arecreational vehicle.

In some embodiments, the memory further comprising instructions thatwhen executed by the processor cause the processor to: activate, inresponse to a determination that the recreational vehicle is not in therange of the communication device, the wearable device without anoise-cancelling feature, determine whether an elapsed time exceeds apredefined threshold, and inactivate, in response to a determinationthat the elapsed time exceeds the predefined threshold, the wearabledevice.

In some embodiments, the memory further comprising instructions thatwhen executed by the processor cause the processor to: activate, inresponse to a determination that the engine of the recreational vehicleis not running, the wearable device without a noise-cancelling feature,determine whether an elapsed time exceeds a predefined threshold, andinactivate, in response to a determination that the elapsed time exceedsthe predefined threshold, the wearable device.

In other aspect, a method for minimizing a battery power usage of awearable device is provided. The method includes determining, by awearable device, if a recreational vehicle is in a range of thecommunication device, determining, in response to a determination thatthe recreational vehicle is in the range of the communication device andby a wearable device, a state of an engine of the recreational vehicle,and activating, in response to a determination that the engine of therecreational vehicle is running and by a wearable device, anoise-cancelling feature of the wearable device.

In some embodiments, determining the state of the engine of therecreational vehicle may include measuring a harmonic content of theengine to determine the state of the engine of the recreational vehicle.

In some embodiments, determining the state of the engine of therecreational vehicle may include receiving a message from therecreational vehicle including the state of the engine.

In some embodiments, the recreational vehicle may be in the range of thecommunication device when the wearable device is near or inside arecreational vehicle.

In some embodiments, the method may further include activating, inresponse to determining that the recreational vehicle is not in therange of the communication device, the wearable device without anoise-cancelling feature, determining, by the wearable device, whetheran elapsed time exceeds a predefined threshold, and inactivating, inresponse to determining that the elapsed time exceeds the predefinedthreshold and by the wearable device, the wearable device.

In some embodiments, the method may further include activating, inresponse to determining that the engine of the recreational vehicle isnot running and by the wearable device, the wearable device without anoise-cancelling feature, determining, by the wearable device, whetheran elapsed time exceeds a predefined threshold, and inactivating, inresponse to determining that the elapsed time exceeds the predefinedthreshold and by the wearable device, the wearable device.

In other aspect, a system for wirelessly charging a wearable device isprovided. The system includes a recreational vehicle with a seat havinga charging pad configured to generate a magnetic field, and a wearabledevice having a receiver configured to detect the magnetic field andcharge a battery of the wearable device.

In some embodiments, the charging pad may be embedded in a headrest ofthe seat of the recreational vehicle, and the receiver is embedded at aback surface of the wearable device where the wearable device is likelybe in close proximity to the headrest of the seat of the recreationalvehicle.

In some embodiments, the wearable device may be a helmet.

In other aspect, a method for wirelessly charging a wearable device isprovided. The method includes generating, by a charging pad of arecreational vehicle, a magnetic field, detecting, by a receiver of awearable device, the magnetic field, and charging, by the receiver of awearable device, a battery of the wearable device when the magneticfield is detected.

In some embodiments, the charging pad may be embedded in a headrest ofthe seat of the recreational vehicle, and the receiver is embedded at aback surface of the wearable device where the wearable device is likelybe in close proximity to the headrest of the seat of the recreationalvehicle.

In some embodiments, the wearable device may be a helmet.

In other aspect, a recreational vehicle for guiding toward a leadingrecreational vehicle is provided. The recreational vehicle includes aprocessor and memory comprising instructions that when executed by theprocessor cause the processor to: display a current location of aleading recreational vehicle relative to a current location of therecreational vehicle on a display screen of the recreational vehicle,determine whether the recreational vehicle is following a travel path ofthe leading recreational vehicle, determine, in response to adetermination that the recreational vehicle is not following the ridingpath of the leading recreational vehicle, a distance between the currentlocation of the recreational vehicle and the travel path, determine ifthe distance exceeds a predefined threshold, and display, in response toa determination that the distance exceeds the predefined threshold, avisual warning alert on the display screen.

In some embodiments, the memory may further include instructions thatwhen executed by the processor cause the processor to play, in responseto a determination that the distance exceeds the predefined thresholdand by the recreational vehicle, an audio warning alert via one or morespeakers of the recreational vehicle.

In some embodiments, the memory may further include instructions thatwhen executed by the processor cause the processor to display one ormore current locations of one or more non-leading recreational vehiclesrelative to the current location of the recreational vehicle on thedisplay screen of the recreational vehicle.

In other aspect, a method for guiding toward a leading recreationalvehicle is provided. The method includes displaying, by a recreationalvehicle, a current location of a leading recreational vehicle relativeto a current location of the recreational vehicle on a display screen ofthe recreational vehicle, determining, by the recreational vehicle,whether the recreational vehicle is following a travel path of theleading recreational vehicle, determining, in response to determiningthat the recreational vehicle is not following the riding path of theleading recreational vehicle and by the recreational vehicle, a distancebetween the current location of the recreational vehicle and the travelpath, determining, by the recreational vehicle, if the distance exceedsa predefined threshold, and displaying, in response to determining thatthe distance exceeds the predefined threshold and by the recreationalvehicle, a visual warning alert on the display screen.

In some embodiments, the method may further include playing, in responseto determining that the distance exceeds the predefined threshold and bythe recreational vehicle, an audio warning alert via one or morespeakers of the recreational vehicle.

In some embodiments, the method may further include displaying, by therecreational vehicle, one or more current locations of one or morenon-leading recreational vehicles relative to the current location ofthe recreational vehicle on the display screen of the recreationalvehicle.

In one aspect, a recreational vehicle for assisting navigation usingaugmented reality is provided. The recreational vehicle includes acompass, surround view cameras, a processor, and memory comprisinginstructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to:display a live view of environment of the recreational vehicle in adirection that the recreational vehicle is travelling on a displayscreen of the recreational vehicle, determine one or more point ofinterest markers, and overlay the point of interest markers in augmentedreality on the live view of the environment on the display screen.

In some embodiments, the one or more point of interest markers mayinclude at least one of a destination location, a start location,landmarks, and/or other recreational vehicle's location.

In other aspect, a method for assisting navigation using augmentedreality is provided. The method includes displaying, by a recreationalvehicle, a live view of environment of the recreational vehicle in adirection that the recreational vehicle is travelling on a displayscreen of the recreational vehicle, determinizing, by the recreationalvehicle, one or more point of interest markers, and overlaying, by therecreational vehicle, the point of interest markers in augmented realityon the live view of the environment on the display screen.

In some embodiments, the one or more point of interest markers mayinclude at least one of a destination location, a start location,landmarks, and/or other recreational vehicle's location.

In one aspect, a wearable device for assisting navigation usingaugmented reality is provided. The wearable device includes a processorand memory comprising instructions that when executed by the processorcause the processor to: determine one or more point of interest markers,and overlay the point of interest markers in augmented reality on a liveview of environment that the user is viewing through a transparentdisplay of the wearable device.

In some embodiments, the one or more point of interest markers mayinclude at least one of a destination location, a start location,landmarks, and/or other recreational vehicle's location.

In some embodiments, the wearable device may further include acommunication system that is communicatively coupled to a recreationalvehicle, wherein the memory further comprising instructions that whenexecuted by the processor cause the processor to receive the point ofinterest markers from the recreational vehicle.

In other aspect, a method for assisting navigation using augmentedreality is provided. The method includes determinizing, by the wearabledevice, one or more point of interest markers, and overlaying, by thewearable device, the point of interest markers in augmented reality on alive view of environment that the user is viewing through a transparentdisplay of the wearable device.

In some embodiments, the one or more point of interest markers mayinclude at least one of a destination location, a start location,landmarks, and/or other recreational vehicle's location.

In some embodiments, the method may further include receiving, by acommunication system of the recreational vehicle that is communicativelycoupled to a recreational vehicle, the point of interest markers fromthe recreational vehicle.

In one aspect, a light indicator system is provided. The light indicatorsystem comprising a light source embedded in a first wearable deviceworn by a user and a light pipe embedded in a second wearable device.The light pipe is adapted to transfer light from the light source into afield of view of the user and configured to provide an indication or anotification to the user.

In some embodiments, the first wearable device may be a helmet and thesecond wearable device may be a goggle

In some embodiments, the first wearable device and the second wearabledevice may be integrated into a single housing.

In some embodiments, the light pipe may be made of acrylic,polycarbonate, and/or a material that has a light-reflective property.

In one aspect, a wearable device is provided. The wearable devicecomprising an earpiece adapted to cover at least a portion of a user'sear, an actuator connected to the earpiece, and a controllercommunicatively coupled to the actuator. The controller is configured toreceive a vehicle state of a vehicle to activate the actuator to controla position of the earpiece based in part on the vehicle state.

In some embodiments, the vehicle state may include a gear position ofthe vehicle.

In some embodiments, the controller may activate the actuator to pushthe earpiece into the user's ear in response to receiving the vehiclestate indicating that the vehicle is in a drive gear.

In some embodiments, the controller may activate the actuator to movethe earpiece back away from the user's ear in response to receiving thevehicle state indicating that the vehicle is no longer in the drivegear.

In some embodiments, the controller may further be configured to adjustthe position of the actuator based on an engine speed, a vehicle speed,a vehicle acceleration, and/or a vehicle deceleration.

In some embodiments, the vehicle state may include a gear position, anengine speed, a vehicle speed, vehicle acceleration, and/or vehicledeceleration.

In one aspect, an energy management system is provided. The energymanagement system comprising an external battery and a wearable device.The wearable device including a component that requires power, aninternal battery configured to provide energy to the component, and anenergy regulator connected to the internal battery and removably coupledto the external battery and configured to determine a battery level ofthe internal battery.

In some embodiments, the external battery may be a vehicle and/or aportable battery bank.

In some embodiments, the energy regulator may be configured to chargethe internal battery in response to a determination that the batterylevel of the internal battery satisfies a first condition.

In some embodiments, the energy regulator may be configured to chargethe internal battery to maintain the battery level of the internalbattery in response to a determination that the battery level of theinternal battery satisfies a second condition.

In some embodiments, the energy regulator may be configured tosupplement energy to the component in response to a determination thatthe battery level of the internal battery is satisfies a thirdcondition.

While multiple embodiments are disclosed, still other embodiments of thepresently disclosed subject matter will become apparent to those skilledin the art from the following detailed description, which shows anddescribes illustrative embodiments of the disclosed subject matter.Accordingly, the drawings and detailed description are to be regarded asillustrative in nature and not restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of thisdisclosure, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparentand will be better understood by reference to the following descriptionof embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a system for noise-cancelling of ambient soundsincluding a wearable device that is communicatively coupled to arecreational vehicle, according to an example of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a computer-implemented method fornoise-cancelling of ambient sounds using the wearable device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates a system for voice reception of a user including awearable device of the user having a communication system, according toan example of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates a method for voice detection of the user using thewearable device of FIG. 3;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are a flow diagram illustrating a computer-implementedmethod for establishing a communication channel between a recreationalvehicle and a wearable device that is in close proximity to therecreational vehicle;

FIGS. 7-9 are a flow diagram illustrating a computer-implemented methodfor minimizing a battery power usage of a wearable device using alocation of the wearable device and vehicle state information;

FIG. 10 illustrates a system for wirelessly charging a wearable devicewhile riding a recreational vehicle;

FIG. 11 is an example screenshot of a display screen of a recreationalvehicle when a user of the recreational vehicle is not following aleading recreational vehicle;

FIG. 12 is an example screenshot of a display screen of a recreationalvehicle having augmented reality technology;

FIG. 13 is an exemplary helmet with a goggle light pipe indicator;

FIG. 14 is a simplified block diagram of an earpiece actuation system ofa helmet; and

FIG. 15 is a simplified block diagram of a helmet energy managementsystem of a helmet.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding partsthroughout the several views. Although the drawings representembodiments of the present disclosure, the drawings are not necessarilyto scale, and certain features may be exaggerated in order to betterillustrate and explain the present disclosure. The exemplification setout herein illustrates an embodiment of the disclosure, in one form, andsuch exemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope ofthe disclosure in any manner.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments of the present invention will be described in detailwith reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numeralsrepresent like parts and assemblies throughout the several views.Reference to various embodiments does not limit the scope of theinvention, which is limited only by the scope of the claims attachedhereto. Additionally, any examples set forth in this specification arenot intended to be limiting and merely set forth some of the manypossible embodiments for the claimed invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a system 100 for noise-cancelling of ambient soundsis shown. In the illustrative embodiment, the system 100 includes awearable device 110 (e.g., a helmet) that may be communicatively coupledto a recreational vehicle 140. For example, the wearable device 110 maybe communicatively coupled to the recreational vehicle 140 wirelessly(e.g., via Bluetooth or WiFi) or via a wire. It should be appreciatedthat the wearable device 110 is adapted to be worn by a user (e.g., adriver/rider) when riding the recreational vehicle 140 for safety andcommunication. During the ride, environment noise (e.g., engine noise,tire noise, wind) may hinder the user's ability to hear the sounds fromthe wearable device 110 and may distract the user from enjoying theride. At the same time, completely blocking the environment noise is notsafe for the user as the user needs to be aware of the environment forsafety reasons. As such, the illustrative wearable device 110 isconfigured to filter the environment noise while allowing sounds,talking, and exterior noises that are not ambient noise, such as trafficnoise, warning sounds, and emergency vehicle sounds, to be delivered tothe user. An example of the wearable device embodied as a helmet isdescribed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/668,980 “ConnectedHelmet System And Method Of Operating The Same,” filed Oct. 30, 2019,the entire disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by referenceherein.

In the illustrative embodiment, the wearable device 110 includes acommunication system 120 that is configured to cancel ambient noisedetected from an exterior of the wearable device 110. In theillustrative embodiment, the communication system 120 includes aprocessor 122, a memory 124, an input/output (I/O) controller 126 (e.g.,a network transceiver), a memory unit 128, an user interface 130, anexternal microphone 132, an interior microphone 134, and a speaker 136,all of which may be interconnected via one or more address/data bus.Although the I/O controller 126 is shown as a single block, it should beappreciated that the I/O controller 126 may include a number ofdifferent types of I/O components. The user interface 130 may includeone or more input devices that can receive user input (e.g., buttons, atouch pad, a keyboard).

The processor 122 as disclosed herein may be any electronic device thatis capable of processing data, for example a central processing unit(CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a system on a chip (SoC), orany other suitable type of processor. It should be appreciated that thevarious operations of example methods described herein (i.e., performedby the communication system 120) may be performed by one or moreprocessors 122. The memory 124 may be a random-access memory (RAM),read-only memory (ROM), a flash memory, or any other suitable type ofmemory that enables storage of data such as instruction codes that theprocessor 122 needs to access in order to implement any method asdisclosed herein. It should be appreciated that although only oneprocessor 122 is shown, the communication system 120 may includemultiple processors 122.

The communication system 120 may further include a database 138. As usedherein, the term “database” may refer to a single database or otherstructured data storage, or to a collection of two or more differentdatabases or structured data storage components. In the illustrativeembodiment, the database 138 is part of the communication system 120. Insome embodiments, the communication system 120 may access the database138 via a network (not shown). The database 138 may store data that isreceived from and/or to be transmitted to one or more communicationsystems of the recreational vehicle 140 and/or the computing device 160(e.g., a user's mobile device, another wearable device, or a server).

It should be appreciated that each of other wearable devices includes acommunication system similar to the communication system 120 of thewearable device 110. In general, the computing device 160 may includeany existing or future devices capable of receiving and/or transmittingdata to and from the user. For example, the computing device may be, butnot limited to, a mobile device, a smartphone, a tablet, wearable, smartglasses, a computer, a notebook, a laptop, or any other suitablecomputing device that is capable of communicating with the communicationsystem 120 of the wearable device 110.

The communication system 120 may further include a number of softwareapplications stored in memory unit 128, which may be called a programmemory. The various software applications on the communication system120 may include specific programs, routines, or scripts for performingprocessing functions associated with the methods described herein.Additionally or alternatively, the various software applications on thecommunication system 120 may include general-purpose softwareapplications for data processing, database management, data analysis,network communication, web server operation, or other functionsdescribed herein or typically performed by a communication system of awearable device (e.g., a helmet). The various software applications maybe executed on the same computer processor or on different computerprocessors. Additionally, or alternatively, the software applicationsmay interact with various hardware modules that may be installed withinor connected to the communication system 120. Such modules may implementpart of or all of the various exemplary method functions discussedherein or other related embodiments.

The external microphone 132 may be any electronic device that arecapable of capturing sound and converting into an electrical audiooutput signal. The external microphone 132 is configured to bepositioned at the exterior of the wearable device 110 to capture soundsfrom the exterior of the wearable device 110. For example, if thewearable device 110 is embodied as a helmet, the external microphone 132is mounted on an exterior surface of the helmet to capture theenvironment sounds from the exterior of the helmet. The environmentsounds may include voices and sounds that the user is interested inhearing or needs to hear to be aware of the environment (e.g., trafficnoise, warning sounds, and emergency vehicle sounds). However, theenvironment sounds also includes ambient noise, such as engine noise,tire noise, wind noise, which may hinder the user's ability to hear thesounds coming from the speaker 136 of the wearable device 110 during aride and may even distract the user from enjoying the ride. As such, asdiscussed further in FIG. 2, the audio signals from the externalmicrophone 132 may be filtered to remove the ambient noise but keepsounds, talking, and exterior noises that are not ambient noise. Itshould be appreciated that although only one exterior microphone isshown, the communication system 120 of the wearable device 110 mayinclude multiple exterior microphones.

The interior microphone 134 may be any electronic device that arecapable of capturing sound and converting into an electrical audiooutput signal. The interior microphone 134 is configured to bepositioned on an interior surface of the wearable device 110 facingtoward the user's face to receive audible sound from the user. Forexample, if the wearable device 110 is embodied as a helmet, theinterior microphone 134 is mounted inside the helmet near the user'smouth to capture the user's speech or voice. It should be appreciatedthat the audio signals from the interior microphone 134 may betransmitted to a communication system (e.g., 150), a navigation system,an entertainment system of the recreational vehicle 140 for voicecommands, phone or radio communications, vehicle-to-vehiclecommunications, or other wearable device-to-vehicle features (e.g., tocreate a voice-to-text message or email). It should be appreciated thatalthough only one interior microphone is shown, the communication system120 of the wearable device 110 may include multiple interiormicrophones.

The speaker 136 may be any electronic device that are capable ofproducing sound in response to an electrical audio signal input. In theillustrative embodiment, the speaker 136 is positioned near the user'sears to transmit audible sound to the user. If the wearable device 110is embodied as a helmet, the speaker 136 may be positioned inside thehelmet near the user's ears to transmit audible sound to the user. Itshould be appreciated that the speaker 136 may be communicativelycoupled to the recreational vehicle 140 to receive audio from acommunication system, a navigation system, and/or an entertainmentsystem of the recreational vehicle 140 for music, navigation, phone orradio communications, vehicle-to-vehicle communications, or otherwearable device-to-vehicle features (e.g., to create a voice-to-textmessage or email). It should be appreciated that, in some embodiments,the speaker 136 may be communicatively coupled to the communicationsystem 120 wirelessly (e.g., via Bluetooth or WiFi). It should also beappreciated that although only one speaker is shown, the communicationsystem 120 of the wearable device 110 may include multiple speakers.

The system 100 may further include one or more computing device (e.g., auser's mobile device or a server) and/or other wearable devices that arecommunicatively coupled to the wearable device 110 via a network (notshown). The network is any suitable type of computer network thatfunctionally couples the communication system 120 of the wearable device110 with the recreational vehicle 140 and/or one or more computingdevices (e.g., a mobile device, a communication system of anotherwearable device, and/or a server). The network may include a proprietarynetwork, a secure public internet, a virtual private network and/or oneor more other types of networks, such as dedicated access lines, plainordinary telephone lines, satellite links, cellular data networks, orcombinations thereof. In embodiments where the network comprises theInternet, data communications may take place over the network via anInternet communication protocol. The network may be, or include, anynumber of different types of communication networks such as, forexample, a bus network, a short messaging service (SMS), a local areanetwork (LAN), a wireless LAN (WLAN), a wide area network (WAN), apersonal area network (PAN), the Internet, a P2P network,custom-designed communication or messaging protocols, and/or the like.The network may include a combination of multiple networks.

It should be appreciated that this diagram is merely an example, whichshould not unduly limit the scope of the claims. One of ordinary skillin the art would recognize many variations, alternatives, andmodifications.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a computer-implemented method 200 fornoise-canceling of the wearable device (e.g., 110) is shown. In theillustrative embodiment, the method 200 is performed by thecommunication system 120 of the wearable device 110. In block 202, thecommunication system 120 receives audio input signals from the exteriormicrophone 132 of the wearable device 110, which captures sounds comingfrom the exterior of the wearable device 110. The exterior microphone132 may capture environment or ambient noise, such as engine noise, tirenoise, driveline noise, wind noise, and clutch noise.

As discussed above, the environment noise (e.g., engine noise, tirenoise, wind) may hinder the user's ability to hear the sounds from thewearable device 110 during a ride and may distract the user fromenjoying the ride. At the same time, completely blocking the environmentnoise is not desired. As such, in block 204, the communication system120 performs an active noise control to cancel the ambient noise fromthe audio input signals. To do so, the communication system 120 detectsthe ambient noise from the audio input signals. In some embodiments, thecommunication system 120 may use machine learning algorithms to detectambient noise, as indicated in block 208. For example, the communicationsystem 120 may be trained to learn to recognize various ambient noisepatterns, and those patterns may be stored in the database 138.Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, the communicationsystem 120 may use current vehicle information of a recreational vehicle(e.g., 140) that the user is riding to detect or identify noise from theaudio input signals. Specifically, such noise may relate to engine noisethat is generated based on a state of an engine of the recreationalvehicle.

The current vehicle information may include a type/model/make of therecreational vehicle, a vehicle noise profile associated with therecreational vehicle, and current state of the engine of therecreational vehicle in or near real-time. The current state of theengine may include any current state of the engine parameters, such asan engine phase, an engine speed, a transmission gear, a clutchposition, a throttle position, and a wheel speed of the recreationalvehicle. It should be appreciated that the vehicle noise profile may begenerated based on known engine parameters (e.g., an engine phase, anengine speed, a transmission gear, a clutch position, a throttleposition, and a wheel speed) of the respective or similar recreationalvehicle.

In other words, based on the current state of the engine of therecreational vehicle, the communication system 120 may predict what theexpected noise is going to be and remove the expected noise from theaudio input signals from the exterior microphone 132 of the wearabledevice 110. This allows the communication system 120 to remove suddennoises generated by the vehicle that may not have been otherwisecharacterized as noise. It should be appreciated that, in theillustrative embodiment, the vehicle noise profile is pre-loaded on thecommunication system 120 prior to receiving the audio data. However, insome embodiments, the vehicle noise profile may be obtained inreal-time.

Subsequently, in block 212, the communication system 120 filters thedetected ambient noise from the audio input signals. For example, thecommunication system 120 may use a low pass filter to remove highfrequency noise and/or a high pass filter to remove low frequency noisefrom the audio input signals.

Once the active noise control is performed, in block 214, thecommunication system 120 delivers the filtered audio signals to the uservia the speaker 136. This allows the communication system 120 to filterthe environment noise while allowing sounds, talking, and exteriornoises that are not ambient noise (e.g., traffic, warning sound,emergency vehicle sound) to be delivered to the user. It should beappreciated that the filtered audio signal may also be delivered to acommunication system (e.g., 150) of a recreational vehicle (e.g., 140)or to any other device that may be communicatively coupled to thecommunication system 120.

It should be appreciated that the method 200 may be performed by theprocessor 122, the exterior microphone 132, the speaker 136, or ananalog circuitry (not shown) of the communication system 120 of thewearable device 110.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a system 300 for detecting a voice of a user(e.g., a driver/rider) of a recreational vehicle 340 via a wearabledevice 302 (e.g., a helmet) is shown. The wearable device 302 is adaptedto be worn by the user when riding the recreational vehicle 340 todetect user's voice or speech during the ride. Detecting user's voiceusing a microphone 324 coupled to the wearable device 302 during theride may be challenging because of sensitivity of the microphone 324 toambient sounds, such as engine noise, tire noise, and wind noise. Toincrease the efficiency and efficacy of voice reception, theillustrative wearable device 302 further includes an accelerometer 326,which is described in detail below.

In the illustrative embodiment, the system 300 includes the wearabledevice 302 having a communication system 310 that is communicativelycoupled to the recreational vehicle 340 wirelessly (e.g., via Bluetoothor WiFi). However, it should be appreciated that, in some embodiments,the wearable device 302 may be coupled to the recreational vehicle 340via a wire. The system 300 may further include one or more wearabledevice 330 and/or one or more computing devices 360 (e.g., a mobiledevice, a server) that are communicatively coupled to the wearabledevice 302 via a network 350.

In the illustrative embodiment, the communication system 310 of thewearable device 302 includes a processor 312, a memory 314, aninput/output (I/O) controller 316 (e.g., a network transceiver), amemory unit 318, an user interface 320, one or more speakers 322, one ormore microphones 324, and an accelerometer 326, all of which may beinterconnected via one or more address/data bus. Although the I/Ocontroller 316 is shown as a single block, it should be appreciated thatthe I/O controller 316 may include a number of different types of I/Ocomponents. The user interface 320 may include one or more input devicesthat can receive user input (e.g., buttons, a touch pad, a keyboard).

The processor 312 as disclosed herein may be any electronic device thatis capable of processing data, for example a central processing unit(CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a system on a chip (SoC), orany other suitable type of processor. It should be appreciated that thevarious operations of example methods described herein (i.e., performedby the communication system 310) may be performed by one or moreprocessors 312. The memory 314 may be a random-access memory (RAM),read-only memory (ROM), a flash memory, or any other suitable type ofmemory that enables storage of data such as instruction codes that theprocessor 312 needs to access in order to implement any method asdisclosed herein. It should be appreciated that although only oneprocessor 312 is shown, the communication system 310 may includemultiple processors 312.

The communication system 310 may further include a database 328. As usedherein, the term “database” may refer to a single database or otherstructured data storage, or to a collection of two or more differentdatabases or structured data storage components. In the illustrativeembodiment, the database 328 is part of the communication system 310. Insome embodiments, the communication system 310 may access the database328 via a network (e.g., a network 350). The database 328 may store datathat is received from and/or to be transmitted to one or morecommunication systems of other wearable devices 330, a computing device360, and one or more recreational vehicles 380. It should be appreciatedthat each of other wearable devices 330 includes a communication systemsimilar to the communication system 310 of the wearable device 302.

In general, the computing device 360 may include any existing or futuredevices capable of receiving and/or transmitting data to and from theuser. For example, the computing device may be, but not limited to, amobile device, a smartphone, a tablet, wearable, smart glasses, acomputer, a notebook, a laptop, or any other suitable computing devicethat is capable of communicating with the communication system 310 ofthe wearable device 302. It should be appreciated that, in someembodiments, the computing device 360 may be directly coupled to thewearable device 302 via a wire.

The communication system 310 may further include a number of softwareapplications stored in memory unit 318, which may be called a programmemory. The various software applications on the communication system310 may include specific programs, routines, or scripts for performingprocessing functions associated with the methods described herein.Additionally or alternatively, the various software applications on thecommunication system 310 may include general-purpose softwareapplications for data processing, database management, data analysis,network communication, web server operation, or other functionsdescribed herein or typically performed by a communication system of awearable device (e.g., a helmet). The various software applications maybe executed on the same computer processor or on different computerprocessors. Additionally, or alternatively, the software applicationsmay interact with various hardware modules that may be installed withinor connected to the communication system 310. Such modules may implementpart of or all of the various exemplary method functions discussedherein or other related embodiments.

The one or more speakers 322 may be any electronic devices that arecapable of producing sound in response to an electrical audio signalinput. In the illustrative embodiment, the speakers 322 are positionednear the user's ears to transmit audible sound to the user. If thewearable device 302 is embodied as a helmet, the speakers 322 may bepositioned inside the helmet near the user's ears to transmit audiblesound to the user. For example, the electrical audio signal input may bereceived from the recreational vehicle 340 via the one or more speaker322 for voice commands, phone communications, and/or radiocommunications (e.g., vehicle-to-vehicle communications). In someembodiments, the electrical audio signal input may be directly receivedfrom a communication system of another wearable device (e.g., 330) toreceive communications or messages from another user. In otherembodiments the communication system 310 of the wearable device 302 maybe communicatively coupled to a user's mobile device (e.g., thecomputing device 360). In such cases, the electrical audio signal inputmay be directly received from a user's mobile device (e.g., thecomputing device 360) to, for example, deliver audio conversationsduring a phone call, play music, and/or play back a text message oremail to the user via the one or more speaker 322.

The one or more microphones 324 may be any electronic devices that arecapable of capturing sound and converting into an electrical audiooutput signal. In the illustrative embodiment, the microphone 324 may bemounted near the user's mouth to receive audible sound from the user. Ifthe wearable device 302 is embodied as a helmet, the microphone may bemounted outside and/or inside the helmet near the user's mouth. Forexample, the electrical audio output signals from the one or moremicrophones 324 may be transmitted to the recreational vehicle 340 forvoice commands, phone communications, and/or radio communications (e.g.,vehicle-to-vehicle communications). The electrical audio output signalmay be transmitted directly to a communication system of anotherwearable device (e.g., 330) of another user to deliver communication ormessage from the user to another user. Additionally, in someembodiments, the communication system 310 may directly communicate withthe user's mobile device (e.g., the computing device 340) for phonecommunications and/or for creating a voice-to-text message or email tobe sent to another computing device.

The accelerometer 326 may be any sensor that is capable of measuringfrequency vibration. In the illustrative embodiment, the accelerometer326 is positioned where the wearable device 302 is likely to be incontact with the user's head and/or neck. This allows the accelerometer326 to capture vibrations of the user's head and/or neck to detect avoice or speech of the user. For example, if the wearable device 302 isembodied as a helmet, the accelerometer is mounted or embedded on aninterior surface of the helmet and is positioned where the cheek of theuser is likely to hit when wearing the helmet. Alternatively oradditionally, if the helmet has a headphone or earmuffs (e.g., a noisecancelling headphone or earmuffs) inside the helmet, the accelerometermay be mounted or embedded in a padding of the ear of the earmuffs.However, it should be appreciated that, in some embodiments, theaccelerometer may be positioned anywhere insider the helmet where thehelmet is in contact with the user's body (e.g., user's head, face,and/or neck). It should also be appreciated that, in some embodiments,the accelerometer 326 may be positioned on a chinstrap of the wearabledevice 302. By mounting the accelerometer 326 in the wearable device oron a chinstrap that is in contact with the user's head and/or neck,audio frequencies produced by the user's vocal cords may be detected inreal time. The accelerometer signals are minimally affected by ambientaudio noise, such as the engine noise. In one example, the accelerometer326 may be embodied as a low-noise, high-bandwidth 3-axis accelerometerwith a time-division multiplexing slave interface. In such an example,the signal bandwidth may be 2340 hertz, and the supply voltage may bebetween 1.71 and 1.99 voltage.

The network 350 is any suitable type of computer network thatfunctionally couples the communication system 310 of the wearable device302 with another wearable device 330, and/or the computing device 360.In some embodiments, the network 350 may be any suitable type ofcomputer network that functionally couples the recreational vehicle 340to one or more computing devices 360 and/or one or more wearabledevices. The network 350 may include a proprietary network, a securepublic internet, a virtual private network and/or one or more othertypes of networks, such as dedicated access lines, plain ordinarytelephone lines, satellite links, cellular data networks, orcombinations thereof. In embodiments where the network 350 comprises theInternet, data communications may take place over the network 350 via anInternet communication protocol.

The network 350 may be, or include, any number of different types ofcommunication networks such as, for example, a bus network, a shortmessaging service (SMS), a local area network (LAN), a wireless LAN(WLAN), a wide area network (WAN), a personal area network (PAN), theInternet, a P2P network, custom-designed communication or messagingprotocols, and/or the like. Additionally, the network 350 may alsoinclude FM/AM radio, Family Radio Service (FRS) radio, General MobileRadio Service (GMRS) radio, amateur radio, and/or the like. The network350 may include a combination of multiple networks.

It should be appreciated that this diagram is merely an example, whichshould not unduly limit the scope of the claims. One of ordinary skillin the art would recognize many variations, alternatives, andmodifications.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a computer-implemented method 400 for voicedetection in the wearable device 302 using the accelerometer 326 and themicrophones 324 is shown. In the illustrative embodiment, the method 400is performed by the communication system 310 of the wearable device 302.As discussed above, detecting user's voice using a microphone coupled toa wearable device in a noisy environment may be challenging because ofsensitivity of the microphone to ambient audio noise or environmentnoise, such as engine noise. However, unlike the audio output signalgenerated by the microphone, the accelerometer output signal isminimally affected by ambient audio noise since the accelerometer isconfigured to detect audio frequencies produced by the user's vocalcords in or near real-time. Based on the accelerometer data, thecommunication system 310 is able to detect whether the user is makingsound and activates the microphone 324 to obtain the microphone data. Inother words, the microphone 324 may be inactive or muted until thecommunication system 310 detects the voice or sound of the user. Itshould be appreciated that, in some embodiments, the microphone 324 maybe always active. As such, the communication system 310 of the wearabledevice 302 utilizes the output signals from the microphones 324 and theaccelerometer 326 of the wearable device 302 to detect a voice of theuser more accurately.

As described above, the accelerometer 326 is configured to detect audiofrequencies produced by the user's vocal cords in real-time. Thedetected frequencies can then be accentuated in the signal path of themicrophones 324 to improve voice detection accuracy. In the illustrativeembodiment, frequency detection and accentuation are done using a lowpass filter 402, a beamforming 404, and a high pass filter 406. As shownin FIG. 4, the low pass filter 402 is connected to the accelerometer326. Whereas, the high pass filter 406 is connected to the microphones324 via a beamformer or a spatial filter 404.

The low pass filter 402 is configured to receive the accelerometeroutput signals generated by the accelerometer 326 to remove highfrequency noise. In other words, the accelerometer data provides anaudio representation of low frequencies of the voice of the user.

The high pass filter 406 is configured to receive the audio outputsignals generated by the microphones 324 of the wearable device 302 toremove low frequency noise (e.g., environment noise). To do so, theaudio output signals from the microphones 324 are processed using abeamforming technique for directional signal reception to achievespatial selectivity via the beamformer or spatial filter 404. It shouldbe appreciated that a different type of beamforming technique may beused depending on how the microphone is mounted or aligned relative tothe user's mouth.

Once the accelerometer output signals and the audio output signals areprocessed, the communication system 310 of the wearable device 302 isconfigured to combine the filtered output signals to detect the voice orspeech of the user. In other words, the vibrations of user's head and/orneck detected by the accelerometer 326 is correlated to the soundcaptured by the microphones 324 to improve voice detection accuracy. Thecombined filtered output signals are transmitted to a destination viawired or wireless communication. The destination may include anotherwearable device, another vehicle, and/or a software application or aserver that is performing the voice recognition.

It should be appreciated that, in some embodiments, the transmission ofsound through the user's head may cause distortion in the accelerometersignals at high frequencies and, thus, the audio quality of theaccelerometer signals may be more representative at lower frequencies.In such embodiments, the communication system may process accelerometersignals from an accelerometer alone without the audio output signalsfrom the microphone to detect the voice of the user with the lower vocalfrequency range, for example, 150 Hz to 1.5 kHz. Additionally, in suchembodiments, the method 400 may be performed (i.e., using output signalsfrom the accelerometer and the microphones) to detect a voice of theuser with the higher end of the vocal talking range, for example 1.5 kHzto 4 kHz.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6, a computer-implemented method 500 forestablishing a communication channel between a wearable device (e.g.,110, 302) and a recreational vehicle (e.g., 140, 340) that is in closeproximity to the wearable device is shown. In the illustrativeembodiment, the communication channel may be formed to transfer audiodata between the wearable device and the recreational vehicle. However,it should be appreciated that the communication channel may also be usedto transmit instructions (e.g., vehicle commands) and/or information(e.g., a battery life of the wearable device).

In the illustrative embodiment, the method 500 is performed by acommunication system (e.g., 120, 310) of a wearable device (e.g., 110,302). In block 502, the wearable device 110, 302 detects a presence of arecreational vehicle that is in close proximity to the wearable device110 to establish a communication channel between the detectedrecreational vehicle and the wearable device 110, 302. For example, thewearable device 110 may include a communication device that detectswhether a recreational vehicle is in a predefined range of thecommunication device.

To do so, in some embodiments, the wearable device 110, 302 (e.g., thecommunication device of the wearable device) may determine that thewearable device 110, 302 is in close proximity to a recreational vehicleusing radiofrequency fields generated by the recreational vehicle, asindicated in block 504. In such embodiments, the recreational vehiclegenerates and transmits radio signals, which may be detected by one ormore nearby wearable devices. Each wearable device 110, 302 determines astrength of the detected radio signals to determine whether the wearabledevice 110, 302 is in close proximity to the recreational vehicle, asindicated in block 506. It should be appreciated that the shorter thedistance between the wearable device 110, 302 and the recreationalvehicle, the stronger the strength of the radio signals detected by thewearable device 110, 302. As such, if the wearable device 110, 302determines that the strength of the radio signals is above a predefinedthreshold level, the wearable device 110, 302 determines that thewearable device 110, 302 is in close proximity to the recreationalvehicle, as indicated in block 508. For example, to reliably detect ahigh signal strength that is above the predefined threshold level, thedistance between the wearable device 110, 302 and the recreationalvehicle may need to be less than one meter.

Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, the wearable device110, 302 (e.g., the communication device of the wearable device) maydetermine that the wearable device 110, 302 is in close proximity to arecreational vehicle by determining a distance from a recreationalvehicle using low frequency electromagnetic fields, as indicated inblock 510. In such embodiments, the recreational vehicle generates lowfrequency electromagnetic fields (e.g., 250 KHz) by one or moregenerating coils located within the recreational vehicle. The lowfrequency electromagnetic fields may be detected by nearby wearabledevices that have one or more receiving coils capable of detectingelectromagnetic waves, as indicated in block 512. Each wearable device110, 302 determines a distance from the generating coils of therecreational vehicle based on a signal strength of the low frequencyelectromagnetic fields, as indicated in block 514. It should beappreciated that the shorter the distance between the wearable device110, 302 and the recreational vehicle, the stronger the signal strengthof the low frequency electromagnetic fields detected by the wearabledevice 110, 302. As such, if the wearable device 110, 302 determinesthat the strength of the low frequency electromagnetic fields is above apredefined threshold level, the wearable device 110, 302 determines thatthe wearable device 110, 302 is in close proximity to the recreationalvehicle that is generating the low frequency electromagnetic fields.

It should be appreciated that, in some embodiments, the recreationalvehicle may have multiple generating coils within the recreationalvehicle. In such embodiments, the wearable device 110, 302 may furtherdetermine a specific seating position of the wearable device 110, 302inside the recreational vehicle by analyzing the directions of themultiple electromagnetic fields generated by the multiple generatingcoils. For example, the electromagnetic field generated by thegenerating coils in the dash board of the recreational vehicle may beused to determine whether the wearable device 110, 302 is in a frontseat or a back seat, and the electromagnetic field generated by thegenerating coils on either side of the recreational vehicle may be usedto determine whether the wearable device 110, 302 is position on theleft or the right side of the recreational vehicle.

However, it should be appreciated that, in some embodiments, adirectional finding or time of flight method may be used to determinewhether the wearable device 110, 302 is in close proximity to arecreational vehicle.

Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, the wearable device110, 302 (e.g., the communication device of the wearable device) maydetermine that the wearable device 110, 302 is in close proximity to arecreational vehicle by determining a distance from a recreationalvehicle using sound waves, as indicated in block 516. In suchembodiments, the recreational vehicle generates sound waves by one ormore speaker of the recreational vehicle. The sound waves may bedetected by nearby wearable devices that have one or more microphonescapable of detecting sound waves, as indicated in block 518. Eachwearable device 110, 302 determines a distance from the generating coilsof the recreational vehicle based on an elapsed time of the sound wavesusing the speed of sound, as indicated in block 520. The elapsed timeindicates a time duration between the time that the sound waves weretransmitted from the recreational vehicle and the time the sound waveswere received by the wearable device 110, 302. It should be appreciatedthat the shorter the distance between the wearable device 110, 302 andthe recreational vehicle, the shorter the elapsed time determined by thewearable device 110, 302. As such, if the wearable device 110, 302determines that the elapsed time is shorter than a predefined thresholdlevel, the wearable device 110, 302 determines that the wearable device110, 302 is in close proximity to the recreational vehicle that isgenerating the sound waves.

Similarly to the magnetic field, a specific seating position of thewearable device 110, 302 inside the recreational vehicle may bedetermined if the recreational vehicle has multiple speakers forgenerating sound waves. In such embodiments, the wearable device 110,302 may analyze the directions of the sound waves generated by themultiple speakers to determine the specific seating position.

In some embodiments, the wearable device 110 may communicate with a seatof the recreational vehicle to determine the seating position of thewearable device within the recreational vehicle. For example, asdescribed further below in FIG. 10, each seat of the recreationalvehicle may include a wireless charging pad to wirelessly charge awearable device that is in close proximity to the charging pad of theseat. In such embodiments, by using a unique identification of thecharging pad, a specific seating position of the wearable device 110,302 inside the recreational vehicle may be determined.

It should be appreciated that the wearable device 110, 304 may enable adirectional communication based on the seating position. In other words,the wearable device 110, 304 may transmit sound to the user of thewearable device via one or more speakers of the wearable device toindicate a direction where the sound actually is coming from. Forexample, if a passenger is sitting in a passenger seat of a recreationalvehicle and is talking to a driver in a driver seat that is positionedat the left side of the passenger seat, the voice of the passenger iscaptured and communicated to the driver. To indicate that the sound iscoming from the right side of the driver, the sound in the left ear isdelayed to account for the sound travelling around the head. It shouldbe appreciated that the amount of delay changes depending on a positionof the driver's head (i.e., a distance between the drivers' ear and thesource of the sound).

In block 522, the wearable device 110, 302 determines whether thewearable device 110, 302 detected a recreational vehicle that in closeproximity to the wearable device 110, 302. If the wearable device 110,302 determines that the recreational vehicle is not in close proximityto the wearable device 110, 302, the method 500 loops back to block 502to continue to determine a presence of a recreational vehicle in closeproximity to the wearable device 110, 302. If, however, the wearabledevice 110, 302 determines that the recreational vehicle is in closeproximity to the wearable device 110, 302, the method 500 advances toblock 524.

In block 524, the wearable device 110, 302 determines if the wearabledevice 110, 302 has been previously paired with the detectedrecreational vehicle. If the wearable device 110, 302 determines thatthe wearable device 110, 302 has not been previously paired with thedetected recreational vehicle, the method 500 advances to block 528 toperform an initial pairing to setup a communication channel between thewearable device 110, 302 and the detected recreational vehicle. To doso, the wearable device 110, 302 may prompt a user (e.g., a wearer) ofthe wearable device 110, 302 to pair with the detected recreationalvehicle that is in in close proximity to the wearable device 110, 302,as indicated in block 530. Upon receiving an authorization from the userin block 532, the wearable device 110, 302 communicates with thedetected recreational vehicle to establish a communication channel, asindicated in block 534.

It should be appreciated that, in some embodiments, the detectedrecreational vehicle may prompt a user (e.g., a driver/rider) of therecreational vehicle (e.g., on a display screen of the recreationalvehicle) whether to pair with the wearable device 110, 302 that is inclose proximity to the recreational vehicle. In such embodiments, uponreceiving an authorization from the user, the recreational vehiclecommunicates with the wearable device 110, 302 to establish acommunication channel.

Referring back to block 526, if the wearable device 110, 302 determinesthat the wearable device 110, 302 has been previously paired with thedetected recreational vehicle, the method 500 skips ahead to block 536to automatically establish a radio connection channel with the detectedrecreational vehicle. The method 500 allows the wearable device 110, 302to automatically establish a communication link with the recreationalvehicle when the wearable device 110, 302 comes near or is within therecreational vehicle without needing to perform multiple steps of apairing process (e.g., blocks 528-534). It should be appreciated thatthe wearable device 110, 302 may automatically connect with anotherwearable device that is also paired with the same recreational vehiclewhen both wearable devices are near or within the recreational vehicle.This may allow direct communication between the wearable devices thatare near or within the same recreational vehicle.

It should be appreciated that, although the method 500 is performed bythe wearable device 110, 302 to detect a presence of a recreationalvehicle that is in close proximity to the wearable device 110, 302 toestablish a communication channel between the wearable device 110, 302and the detected recreational vehicle, a similar method may be performedby a recreational vehicle (e.g., 140, 340) to detect one or morewearable devices that are in close proximity to the recreational vehicleto establish a communication channel between the recreational vehicleand the detected wearable devices. In such embodiments, the recreationalvehicle may detect a specific seat position of the wearable deviceinside the recreational vehicle by using multiple generating coilsand/or speakers within the recreational vehicle. For example, thegenerating coils in the dash board of the recreational vehicle may beused to determine whether the wearable device is in a front seat or aback seat, and the generating coils on either side of the recreationalvehicle may be used to determine whether the wearable device is positionon the left or the right side of the recreational vehicle.

Referring now to FIGS. 7-9, a computer-implemented method 700 forminimizing a battery power usage of a wearable device (e.g., 110, 302,1010). Constantly supplying battery power to a wearable device may wastea battery of the wearable device. Generally, a wearable device relies ona user of the wearable device to control the power usage of the wearabledevice. For example, the user may turn on the power of the wearabledevice when the user needs to use the wearable device to, for example,transmit voice commands to a recreational vehicle, listen to music,and/or participate in telephone or radio communications. The user maythen turn off the power of the wearable device to preserve a battery ofthe wearable device when the wearable device is not in use. However, notonly is burdensome for the user to turn on and off the wearable device,but the user may forget to turn it off when it is not in use, thus,unnecessarily draining the battery of the wearable. Additionally oralternatively, the wearable device may be turned off if a predefinedtime period has passed after a detection of an end of an audio contentinput. However, in this case, the wearable device may not account forthe use of the wearable device without audio content or withintermittent content (e.g., an intercom).

As such, in the illustrative embodiment, a wearable device (e.g., 110,302, 1010) is configured to minimize a battery power usage byautomatically controlling, periodically or continually, an activation ofone or more features of the wearable device. For example, if thewearable device is not in use after a predefined period of time afterthe wearable device is turned on, the wearable device may enable a lowpower mode to minimize a battery usage. The low power mode may includedisabling noise-cancelling feature, reducing radio traffic, and/ordisabling one or more features that may unnecessarily consume thebattery.

The method 700 is performed by the wearable device. In block 702, thewearable device determines if the wearable device is near or inside arecreational vehicle. To do so, blocks 502-520 of FIG. 5 of the method500 may be performed to determine whether the wearable device is inclose proximity to a recreational vehicle. As described in blocks502-520, the wearable device may determine its location relative to arecreational vehicle by using radio frequency fields, magnetic fields,and/or sound waves. If the wearable device determines that the wearabledevice is near or inside a recreational vehicle, the method 700 advancesto block 706.

In block 706, the wearable device communicates with the recreationalvehicle to determine a state of an engine of the detected recreationalvehicle. To do so, the wearable device may periodically or continuallymeasure a harmonic content of the engine for a predefined period of timeto determine the engine state (e.g., whether the engine is turned on oroff), as indicated in block 708. Additionally or alternatively, thewearable device may receive a message (e.g., a direct radio signal) fromthe recreational vehicle that includes an engine state, as indicated inblock 710.

If the wearable device determines that the engine of the recreationalvehicle is running in block 712, the method 700 advances to block 714 toactivate the wearable device with a noise-cancelling feature to removeenvironment noise (e.g., engine noise, tire noise, wind noise) fromaudio data captured by a microphone(s) of the recreational vehicle. If,however, the wearable device determines that the engine of therecreational vehicle is off, the method 700 skips ahead to block 728 ofFIG. 9, which is described further below.

Referring back to block 704, if the wearable device determines that thewearable device is not near or insider a recreational vehicle, themethod 700 skips ahead to block 716 of FIG. 8. In block 716, thewearable device activates the wearable device without thenoise-cancelling feature. In other words, if the wearable device is notnear or inside a recreational vehicle, the wearable device determinesthat the wearable device is not being used for riding of a recreationalvehicle. As such, the noise-cancelling feature of the wearable device tocancel environment noise (e.g., engine noise, tire noise, wind noise)need not be activated. It should be appreciated that, by inactivatingthe noise-cancelling feature, the usage of the battery of the wearabledevice may be reduced.

Subsequently, the wearable device starts a first timer and determines ifthe first timer exceeds the first predefined threshold, as indicated inblocks 718 and 720, respectively. If the wearable device determines thatthe first timer (i.e., the elapsed time) exceeds the first predefinedthreshold in block 722, the wearable device determines that the wearabledevice is not in use and, thus, the wearable device is no longer neededto be activated. Subsequently, the method 700 advances to block 724 toenable the low power mode of the wearable device to minimize the batterypower usage. Additionally, in some embodiments, the low power mode ofthe wearable device may be enabled if the wearable device has nomovement for a predefined period of time based on sensor data generatedby one or more sensors of the wearable device.

If, however, the wearable device determines that the first timer doesnot exceed the first predefined threshold, the method 700 advances toblock 726 to determine whether the location of the wearable devicerelative to a recreational vehicle has changed. If the wearable devicedetermines that the wearable device is still not near or inside therecreational vehicle, the method 700 loops back to block 720 to continuedetermining whether the elapsed time exceeds the first predefinedthreshold. If, however, the wearable device determines that the wearabledevice is now near or inside the recreational vehicle, the method 700loops back to block 706 to determine whether the detected recreationalvehicle is turned on by determining a state of the engine of therecreational vehicle, as described above.

Referring back to block 712, if the wearable device determines that theengine is not running, the method 700 advances to block 728 of FIG. 9.In block 728, the wearable device activates the wearable device withoutthe noise-cancelling feature. In other words, if the engine of therecreational vehicle is not running, the wearable device determines thatthe wearable device is not being used for riding of a recreationalvehicle. As such, the noise-cancelling feature of the wearable device tocancel environment noise (e.g., engine noise, tire noise, wind noise)need not be activated. Again, by inactivating the noise-cancellingfeature, the usage of the battery of the wearable device may be reduced.

Subsequently, the wearable device starts a second timer and determinesif the second timer exceeds the second predefined threshold, asindicated in blocks 730 and 732, respectively. If the wearable devicedetermines that the second timer (i.e., the elapsed time) exceeds thesecond predefined threshold in block 734, the wearable device determinesthat the wearable device is not in use and, thus, the wearable device nolonger needed to be activated. As such, the method 700 advances to block738 to enable the low power mode of the wearable device to minimize thebattery power usage.

If, however, the wearable device determines that the second timer doesnot exceed the second predefined threshold, the method 700 advances toblock 736 to determine whether the engine state of the recreationalvehicle has changed (i.e., the engine of the recreational vehicle isrunning). If the wearable device determines that the recreationalvehicle is still not running, the method 700 loops back to block 732 tocontinue determining whether the elapsed time exceeds the secondpredefined threshold. If, however, the wearable device determines thatthe recreational vehicle is now running, the method 700 loops back toblock 714 to activate the wearable device with the noise-cancellingfeature.

Referring now to FIG. 10, a system 1000 for wirelessly charging awearable device 1010 (e.g., a helmet) while riding a recreationalvehicle (e.g., 140, 340) is shown. To do so, the recreational vehicleincludes a charging pad 1022 (e.g., a transmission coil) for generatinga magnetic field, and the wearable device 1010 includes a receiver 1012for detecting the magnetic field and charging a battery (or providingoperating power) to the wearable device 1010 when the magnetic field isdetected. By providing a wireless charging capability of the wearabledevice 1010 with the recreational vehicle during the ride, the user neednot worry about charging the wearable device 1010 in advance and is freeof any cords that may need to be connected to the recreational vehiclefor wire charging. In the illustrative embodiment, the wirelesslycharging method includes resonance wireless charging, which allows thewearable device 1010 to be charged over a small distance from thecharging pad 1022 of the recreational vehicle. However, in someembodiments, it may utilize any other wireless charging method toprovide power from the recreational vehicle to the wearable device.

In the illustrative embodiment, the charging pad 1022 is embedded in aheadrest of the seat 1020 of the recreational vehicle, while thereceiver 1012 is embedded at the back of the wearable device 1010. Thisallows the receiver 1012 to be positioned in close proximity to thecharging pad 1022 for wireless charging when a user (e.g., a wearer) ofthe wearable device 1010 is on the recreational vehicle. However, itshould be appreciated that, in some embodiments, the charging pad 1022may be embedded in, mounted on, or otherwise attached to any portion ofthe recreational vehicle, and the receiver 1012 may be embedded in,mounted on, or otherwise attached to any portion of the wearable device1010 as long as the receiver 1012 is coupled to a battery of thewearable device 1010.

Referring now to FIG. 11, an example screenshot 1100 of a display screenof a recreational vehicle when a user (e.g., a driver/rider) of therecreational vehicle is not following a leading recreational vehicle isshown. When users (drivers/riders) are travelling together on a separaterecreational vehicle, the recreational vehicles of the users maycommunicate with one another to make sure that they are generallytravelling together. To do so, in the illustrative embodiment, the usersdesignates one of their recreational vehicles as a leading recreationalvehicle, and the non-leading recreational vehicles are guided toward theleading recreational vehicle. This allows the users to ride freelywithout worrying about losing his or her group members.

In the illustrative embodiment, a non-leading recreational vehicle 1110displays its current location 1110 and a current location of a leadingrecreational vehicle 1120 on a map. The non-leading recreational vehiclefurther displays relative locations of the other non-leadingrecreational vehicles in the group, as shown in a section 1130 of thedisplay screen. If the non-leading recreational vehicle 1110 detectsthat the non-leading recreational vehicle 1110 is not following aleading recreational vehicle, the non-leading recreational vehicle 1110displays a visual warning alert 1140 on the display screen to catch theuser's attention. For example, the non-leading recreational vehicle 1110determines that it is not following the leading recreational vehicle ifit is outside of a predefined threshold distance from the travel routeof the leading vehicle 1120. It should be appreciated that thepredefined threshold distance may be set by the user of the non-leadingrecreational vehicle 1110.

Additionally, the non-leading recreational vehicle 1110 may also play awarning sound via one or more speakers of the non-leading recreationalvehicle 1110 to alert the user that the user is not following theleading recreational vehicle 1120. In some embodiments, the non-leadingrecreational vehicle 1110 may reduce a volume of any audio soundscurrently playing via the speaker(s) when playing the warning sound.Such visual and/or audio alerts keep the users in the group to traveltogether toward the generally the same direction as the leadingrecreational vehicle. It should be appreciated that, in someembodiments, the visual and/or audio alerts may be silenced and/ordisabled.

Referring now to FIG. 12, an example screenshot 1200 of a display screenof a recreational vehicle (e.g., 140) is shown. The illustrativerecreational vehicle is configured to add point of interest markers inaugmented reality to a live surrounding view of the environment on thedisplay screen to assist with navigation during a ride. To do so, theillustrative recreational vehicle includes an augmented reality system,surround view cameras, a compass, and a communication system thatprovides vehicle-to-vehicle communication of GPS coordinates of itsrespective location.

In certain riding conditions, there is not clearly defined trails. Usersriding recreational vehicles in an open environment without clearlydefined trails (e.g., sand dunes, open water, and open frozen lakes)generally care about a final destination location but do not require apre-determined route to get to the destination. In such cases, theaugmented reality system of the recreational vehicle may allow the userto navigate based off of point of interest locations (e.g., adestination location, a start location, a geographical location, and/orother user's location). Such a system allows the user to move toward thegeneral direction of the final destination without having to affix on apre-determined route.

For example, if a user is riding a recreational vehicle in sand dunes,the recreational vehicle may display on a display screen of therecreational vehicle a present view of the environment in a directionthat the user is travelling. It should be appreciated that this view issimilar to the scenery that the user is viewing when riding therecreational vehicle at that moment. The recreational vehicle mayfurther determine the present location of Rider 1 (i.e., another user ofanother recreational vehicle), Old Hill (i.e., an interest location),and Home Base (i.e., may be a destination location and/or a startlocation) relative to the recreational vehicle and overlay thoselocations in the direction the present view of the environment is shownin the display screen. The example of the display screen is shown in thescreenshot 1200. This allows the user to gauge general direction to getto such locations.

In some embodiments, the augmented reality feature may be implemented ina wearable device that is communicatively coupled to a recreationalvehicle. For example, the wearable device may be a helmet, a head-updisplay, goggles, glasses, contact lenses, face shield, or any otherwearable device capable of displaying augmented reality elements. Insuch embodiments, the screenshot 1200 may be displayed on a transparentdisplay of the wearable device.

It should be appreciated that, in other embodiments, the augmentedreality feature may be implemented in a wearable device of a passengerof recreational vehicles for gamification during the ride. To do so, thewearable device may include one or more cameras mounted on the exteriorof the wearable device to capture the live stream of the environment. Insuch embodiments, augmented reality elements of a game are added to alive view on a transparent display of the wearable device. The user mayplay the game by the movement of the user's head and/or using acontroller device (e.g., a handheld controller). In some embodiments,the controller device (e.g., a turret, an arcade-style controller) maybe mounted on a passenger grab handle and may be detachable from thegrab handle. It should be appreciated that multiple wearable devices ofpassengers of one or more recreational vehicles may communicate with oneanother to participate in the same game. It should be appreciated that,in some embodiments, the driver of the recreational vehicle mayparticipate in the game.

Referring now to FIG. 13, an exemplary helmet 1300 with a goggle lightindicator is shown. The goggle light indicator 1310 is adapted tocommunicate with a rider, who is wearing the helmet 1300 and a goggle1320. To do so, the goggle light indicator 1310 includes a lightemitting diode (LED) 1330 embedded in the helmet 1300 and a light pipe1340 embedded in the goggle 1320. In the illustrative embodiment, thegoggle 1320 is removable from the helmet 1300. However, in someembodiments, the goggle 1320 may be integrated into and part of thehelmet 1300.

The light pipe 1340 is adapted to transfer light from the helmet mountedLED 1330 into the field of view of the rider on the goggle 1320. In theillustrative embodiment, the light pipe 1340 is made of acrylic orpolycarbonate. However, it should be appreciated that the light pipe1340 may be made of any material that has a light-reflective property.The light pipe 1340 is configured to provide an indication or anotification to the rider. For example, the LED 1330 may emit light inresponse to detecting a voice activity. Additionally or alternatively,the LED 1330 may emit light to indicate that a ride partner is out of acommunication range or that a distance between the rider and the ridepartner exceeds a predefined threshold. It should be appreciated thatthe goggle light indicator 1310 is used to indicate variousnotifications associated with a vehicle and/or a mobile device of therider.

In some embodiments, the LED 1330 may illuminate with a particularblinking pattern to indicate a certain type of indication ornotification. In other words, different blinking patterns may beassociated with different indications or notifications. In suchembodiments, the rider may customize the blinking patterns on the mobiledevice and/or the vehicle. Although only one LED and one light pipe areillustrated in FIG. 13, in some embodiments, the goggle light indicator1310 may include multiple LEDs with respective light pipes. Each LED andlight pipe may be associated with a different type of indication ornotification. Additionally or alternatively, multiple LEDs may beconfigured, such that a combination of LEDs (e.g., a number of emittedlights or a light pattern) is associate with a certain type ofindication or notification. Additionally, in some embodiments, each ofthe LEDs may have a different color of the light representing aparticular type of indication or notification. In such embodiments, thecolor associated with indication or notification may be configurable bythe rider on the mobile device and/or the vehicle.

Referring now to FIG. 14, a smart earpiece actuation system 1400 of ahelmet 1410 of a rider of a vehicle 1450 is shown. The helmet 1410includes a set of earpieces 1420, a set of actuators 1430, and anelectronic control unit (ECU) 1440 communicatively coupled to the set ofactuators 1430. Each actuator 1430 is associated with a respectiveearpiece 1420 to control positions of the earpieces 1420 relative to therider's ears or head. However, it should be appreciated that, in someembodiments, a single actuator may control both earpieces 1420. The ECU1440 is configured to communicate with the vehicle 1450 to receive orobtain a vehicle state of the vehicle 1450 in real-time or in nearreal-time to control the actuators 1430 associated with earpieces 1420of the helmet 1410. For example, the vehicle state includes a gearposition (e.g., drive gear, neutral gear, and park), an engine speed, avehicle speed, vehicle acceleration, and/or vehicle deceleration. Theautomatic control of the relative position of the earpieces based on thevehicle state may improve the rider's overall riding experience.

As an example, when the rider puts on the helmet 1410 and the vehicle isnot turned on or the gear is in a park position, the ECU 1440 does notactivate the actuators 1430. When the rider shifts the vehicle 1450 to adrive gear (e.g., H/L or 1-6), the ECU 1440 automatically activates theactuators 1430 to push the earpieces 1420 into the rider's ears. Thisreduces an amount of noise (e.g., engine noise, tire noise, wind noise)entering the earpieces 1420 that may hinder the rider's ability to hearthe sounds coming from one or more speakers (e.g., speakers within theearpieces 1420) of the helmet 1410 during rides. It should beappreciated that, in some embodiments, the ECU 1440 may adjust thepositions of the actuators 1430 based on an engine speed, a vehiclespeed, a vehicle acceleration, and/or a vehicle deceleration to furtherincrease or decrease how hard the earpieces are being pressed againstthe rider's ears or head. When the rider shifts back out of the drivegear (e.g., to a neutral gear or a park position), the ECU 1440automatically activates the actuators 1430 to move the earpieces 1420back away from the rider's ears. This allows the rider to easily hearthe environment sounds (e.g., talking). This may also allow the rider toeasily remove the helmet 1410.

Referring now to FIG. 15, an exemplary smart helmet energy managementsystem 1500 of a helmet 1510 of a rider of a vehicle is shown. In theillustrative embodiment, the helmet 1510 includes an in-helmet energyregulator 1520, an in-helmet battery 1530, and a heated shield 1540.

Generally, smart helmets include various components that need power tofunction. For example, in the illustrative embodiment, the helmet 1510includes a heated shield that needs power to provide heat to a shield ofthe helmet 1510. However, in cold weather conditions, the in-helmetbattery 1530 may have limited capabilities with lower power output andenergy content. This yields to a lower run time of the heated shield1540. In order to provide sufficient power output to the helmet 1510during rides in various weather conditions, the helmet 1510 may beconnected to an external power source 1550 via the in-helmet energyregulator 1520 of the helmet 1510. In the illustrative embodiment, theexternal power source 1550 is 12-voltage power from the vehicle or otherpower sources (e.g., a portable power bank). The in-helmet energyregulator 1520 is configured to determine a battery level of thein-helmet battery 1530 and control a power distribution to charge,maintain, and supplement energy to the heated shield 1540, othercomponents of the helmet 1510, and/or other components that are coupledto the helmet 1510 (e.g., a heated garment) that need power.

For example, if the in-helmet energy regulator 1520 determines that thebattery level of the in-helmet battery 1530 is below a threshold level,the in-helmet energy regulator 1520 may use the external power source1550 to charge the in-helmet battery 1530. If, however, the in-helmetenergy regulator 1520 determines that the battery level of the in-helmetbattery 1530 is above the threshold level, the in-helmet energyregulator 1520 may use the external power source 1550 to maintain thebattery level of the in-helmet battery 1530. Additionally oralternatively, depending on the battery level of the in-helmet battery1530, the in-helmet energy regulator 1520 may supply energy directlyfrom the external power source 1550 to the heated shield 1540, othercomponents of the helmet 1510, and/or other components that are coupledto the helmet 1510. In some embodiments, the in-helmet energy regulator1520 may supply energy directly from the external power source 1550 inresponse to detecting that the external power source 1530 is connectedto the helmet 1510 regardless of the battery level of the in-helmetbattery 1530.

The above specification, examples and data provide a completedescription of the manufacture and use of the composition of theinvention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention, the inventionresides in the claims hereinafter appended.

What is claimed is:
 1. A recreational vehicle for guiding toward aleading recreational vehicle, the recreational vehicle comprising: aprocessor; and memory comprising instructions that when executed by theprocessor cause the processor to: display a current location of aleading recreational vehicle relative to a current location of therecreational vehicle on a display screen of the recreational vehicle;determine whether the recreational vehicle is following a travel path ofthe leading recreational vehicle; determine, in response to adetermination that the recreational vehicle is not following the ridingpath of the leading recreational vehicle, a distance between the currentlocation of the recreational vehicle and the travel path; determine ifthe distance exceeds a predefined threshold; and display, in response toa determination that the distance exceeds the predefined threshold, avisual warning alert on the display screen.
 2. The recreational vehicleof claim 1, wherein the memory further comprising instructions that whenexecuted by the processor cause the processor to play, in response to adetermination that the distance exceeds the predefined threshold and bythe recreational vehicle, an audio warning alert via one or morespeakers of the recreational vehicle.
 3. The recreational vehicle ofclaim 1, wherein the memory further comprising instructions that whenexecuted by the processor cause the processor to display one or morecurrent locations of one or more non-leading recreational vehiclesrelative to the current location of the recreational vehicle on thedisplay screen of the recreational vehicle.
 4. A method for guidingtoward a leading recreational vehicle, the method comprising:displaying, by a recreational vehicle, a current location of a leadingrecreational vehicle relative to a current location of the recreationalvehicle on a display screen of the recreational vehicle; determining, bythe recreational vehicle, whether the recreational vehicle is followinga travel path of the leading recreational vehicle; determining, inresponse to determining that the recreational vehicle is not followingthe riding path of the leading recreational vehicle and by therecreational vehicle, a distance between the current location of therecreational vehicle and the travel path; determining, by therecreational vehicle, if the distance exceeds a predefined threshold;and displaying, in response to determining that the distance exceeds thepredefined threshold and by the recreational vehicle, a visual warningalert on the display screen.
 5. The method of claim 4, furthercomprising playing, in response to determining that the distance exceedsthe predefined threshold and by the recreational vehicle, an audiowarning alert via one or more speakers of the recreational vehicle. 6.The method of claim 4, further comprising displaying, by therecreational vehicle, one or more current locations of one or morenon-leading recreational vehicles relative to the current location ofthe recreational vehicle on the display screen of the recreationalvehicle.
 7. A recreational vehicle for assisting navigation usingaugmented reality, the recreational vehicle comprising: a compass;surround view cameras; a processor; and memory comprising instructionsthat when executed by the processor cause the processor to: display alive view of environment of the recreational vehicle in a direction thatthe recreational vehicle is travelling on a display screen of therecreational vehicle; determine one or more point of interest markers;and overlay the point of interest markers in augmented reality on thelive view of the environment on the display screen.
 8. The recreationalvehicle of claim 7, wherein the one or more point of interest markersinclude at least one of a destination location, a start location,landmarks, and/or other recreational vehicle's location.
 9. A method forassisting navigation using augmented reality, the method comprising:displaying, by a recreational vehicle, a live view of environment of therecreational vehicle in a direction that the recreational vehicle istravelling on a display screen of the recreational vehicle;determinizing, by the recreational vehicle, one or more point ofinterest markers; and overlaying, by the recreational vehicle, the pointof interest markers in augmented reality on the live view of theenvironment on the display screen.
 10. The method of claim 9, whereinthe one or more point of interest markers include at least one of adestination location, a start location, landmarks, and/or otherrecreational vehicle's location.
 11. A wearable device for assistingnavigation using augmented reality, the wearable device comprising: aprocessor; and memory comprising instructions that when executed by theprocessor cause the processor to: determine one or more point ofinterest markers; and overlay the point of interest markers in augmentedreality on a live view of environment that the user is viewing through atransparent display of the wearable device.
 12. The wearable device ofclaim 11, wherein the one or more point of interest markers include atleast one of a destination location, a start location, landmarks, and/orother recreational vehicle's location.
 13. The wearable device of claim11, further comprising a communication system that is communicativelycoupled to a recreational vehicle, wherein the memory further comprisinginstructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor toreceive the point of interest markers from the recreational vehicle. 14.A method for assisting navigation using augmented reality, the methodcomprising: determinizing, by the wearable device, one or more point ofinterest markers; and overlaying, by the wearable device, the point ofinterest markers in augmented reality on a live view of environment thatthe user is viewing through a transparent display of the wearabledevice.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the one or more point ofinterest markers include at least one of a destination location, a startlocation, landmarks, and/or other recreational vehicle's location. 16.The method of claim 14, further comprising receiving, by a communicationsystem of the recreational vehicle that is communicatively coupled to arecreational vehicle, the point of interest markers from therecreational vehicle.